How to Doordash Without Red Card

You can dash without a red card, but only until it comes in the mail (accompanied by your hot bag.) Doordash gives beginners a few orders just to get them started earning and learning how it’s done.

After beginners receive their red card and hot bag, they’re full-fledged dashers and can operate like other dashers.

The company explains to beginning dashers how to Doordash without red card. In this in-depth, step-by-step tutorial, we’ll explain what a red card is, why it’s used, as well as how to deliver Doordash without a red card.

Reading this tutorial will clear the way for you to Doordash yourself, red card or not.

Ready? Let’s dash!

How To Deliver With Doordash Without The Red Card

Before we begin teaching you how to start Doordash without a red card, we need to be absolutely clear on red cards. Numerous companies provide red cards for various purposes such as Target’s red card for purchases, red cards for footballers who bet on games, along with companies who use red cards for enrollment purposes, ID cards, checks, and such. Doordash’s red card is strictly for orders and nothing else.

What Is Doordash Red Card?

Doordash puts customers’ payments for their orders on their red cards. Drivers don’t pay for anything except their gas, and they do that with their own credit and/or debit cards (the company doesn’t pay for anything for the drivers.) Drivers’ earnings are not placed on the card, nor is it linked to the drivers’ bank accounts.

How Does It Work?

A customer opens the DoorDash app and orders from Cracker Barrel. They pay the total with their personal debit/credit card. When you, the Doordash driver, accept the order, the money to pay for it is placed on your Doordash red card. You pay for the order at the restaurant, pick it up, and deliver it to your customer.

When the order is marked complete in the app, the driver is paid, gets 100 percent of the tips, and it’s all placed on another card (this one is white.) Please note that if a driver refuses an order, no money to pay for it is placed on the red card.

The red card is not a debit card but a credit card. Drivers shouldn’t add a tip if they’re using the red card. Although some restaurants only take cash, the company will reimburse you for that. Make very sure you have your red card on you before you report for work.

How To Doordash Without Red Card

When you first begin with Doordash, you’ll work for two weeks without a red card of your own. Your orders will be for food paid but do not require a red card. All you have to do is tell the restaurant the customer’s name. After you take your first paid order, your red card will be sent to you.

It’s important to know that the red card is not, repeat not, a debit card. It can’t function as one due to it not having a PIN. The red card acts strictly as a credit card. The dasher will place the order, proceed to the restaurant, and then pay with their red card.

What Happens If You Lose Your Doordash Red Card?

A Doordash lost red card means the inability to accept orders, while it also means an uptick in your refusal rating.

You’ll revert to the beginning when you learned how to Doordash without a red card, meaning you’ll dash for two weeks without a red card while it’s being sent to you.

There are two ways to get a new card.

You can go into the app to order a red card Doordash.

The second option is to go to the nearest Doordash office to tell them “I’ve lost my Doordash red card” and order a Doordash red card replacement forthwith.

If you go into the app to get a Doordash red card replacement, you’ll log into the app:

On iOS:

Navigate to your account
Tap on “Lost Your Red Card?”
Tap on “Yes, it’s lost”

On Android:

Navigate to your account
Tap on red cards
Tap on “Mark as lost”

Fill out the information, and Doordash will take care of the rest.

The new red card will arrive in the mail.

Going to the nearest Doordash office to report a Doordash lost red card is quicker, and you won’t have to wait until one arrives in the mail.

Lots of dashers order red card Doordash backup cards just in case they lose their card, so think of that as you’re reporting yours being lost.

How To Get A Doordash Red Card Replacement

Reporting the card lost as described above is only half the battle.

If you can’t get to the nearest Doordash office to get a replacement, you can go into the Doordash app to visit the Doordash store:

Tap on Dasher Gear
You’ll tap on the United States before entering the store. Tap on the red card
Select the quantity and shipping method
Add to your cart
Finish the purchasing process

Doordash Tips And Hacks

1. Declined Card

Your red card will be declined by a restaurant if its prices have gone up without alerting Doordash to the changes. The driver will then call the company, who will call the restaurant, and the problem will be worked out between the two.

2. Red Card Not Working

At times, your red card won’t work. In these instances, you can force stop the app and restart it in 30 seconds.

If it still doesn’t work (the app freezes or gives you an error message,) then uninstall the app and reinstall it. That should do it, but if it doesn’t, call the company for help.

3. Numbers On Front Of The Red Card

Every credit/debit card, gift card, or company card has a series of 16 to 19 numbers on the card.

The first six to eight numbers are the credit card issuer’s ID numbers. For example, Visa ID numbers begin with 4000, MasterCard with 5000, and Discover with 6000.

Thus, the 16 to 19-digit number at the top of your red card will be your card number.

The second series of numbers is the Delight number. According to the research I’ve been able to find, this number is for use when activating your card on the Doordash app.

The app will ask for the last four digits of the Delight number. Input them, and you’re in.

4. Adding Red Card To Apple Wallet

As of now, there is no mechanism for adding the Doordash red card to Apple Wallet or any other virtual payment system.

It’s a security thing: you have to be able to prove the card is yours, and there’s no way a virtual payment system can do that. You must use the physical card.

5. How To Doordash Without Red Card: Lost Cards

Many drivers have reported on Reddit that their driving ability was suspended until they received a replacement Doordash red card.

They couldn’t even drive without the card as they did when they began the job. Keep this in mind, and order two cards so one is always on hand.

6. Red Card Expiration Date

Every credit/debit/gift card/company card has an expiration date. Usually, when a card expires, the company will send you an alert so you can order a new one.

Doordash doesn’t say anything about the expiration date on their cards. Just to be safe, call customer service to ask for a new card if it’s nearing its expiration.

7. You Make More Money With The Red Card

There are times when a client orders food from a restaurant with no delivery service. They’ll contact Doordash to pick it up and deliver it.

In these instances, the driver won’t use his red card, because the order is already paid. This is one example of how to Doordash without a red card. More orders are paid using the red card, so, yes, you’ll make more money using it.

8. Who Pays For The Red Card?

The card is issued to drivers by the company at no cost to the dasher. It’s loaded with the money to pay for the order when a client orders from a restaurant.

The company assigns the order to a dasher, loads the card with the money, and the dasher picks up and delivers the order. The card is used strictly for Doordash orders and is not linked to anyone’s bank account.

9. Reimbursement For Red Card Failure

Your red card could fail due to any number of reasons. When it happens, you’ll pay for the order with your own funds.

The company will reimburse you for the order along with your payment for that week. Here’s how to handle a reimbursement:

Snap a picture of the receipt
The payment category will have a support link. Tap on it to submit your reimbursement request

The company will either reimburse the payment with your pay for that week, or they could do it when you cash out for that day with FAST pay.

10. How To Know When You Need A Red Card

When a driver is assigned an order, the app will clearly read that the red card is needed. If it isn’t, then the order is for a drug store, mom-and-pop store, or restaurant and such.

These might be listed on the available stores on the Doordash app, but not hooked up to the Doordash payment system.

Thus, a red card isn’t necessary for these types of orders.

Doordash Red Card FAQ

Will Doordash Let Me Dash Without A Red Card?

It’s possible to drive without the card on your person, but in order to dash at all, you must have an active red card on your account. In some instances, you can’t even log into your account, much less accept orders, without a red card.

If you don’t have your red card on your person, then you would reject red card orders.

You could pay for an order yourself and be reimbursed for it. If you make it a habit, you could run into trouble with the company. Keep your red card on your person just to avoid trouble.

What Are The “Cans” And “Can’ts” Of The Red Card

Cans

Cards are loaded only with the exact amount paid by the client for the order and food delivery
Cards are strictly used as credit cards, not debit cards
Cards are prepaid only
Cards are only used when the app indicates to pay with a red card

Can'ts

Dashers are not paid on their red cards
Tips are not paid onto red cards
Cards can’t be used for orders not specifying red card use
Cards can’t be used in a debit transaction situation
Cards don’t need a receipt

Final Thoughts

How to Doordash without red card isn’t a biggie. Dashers are required to have one attached to their account, or they can’t log in to the app to dash. However, using one is strictly up to the dasher.

While it’s true dashers make more money on orders using the red card, they can still accept orders not requiring its use.

It’s possible for dashers to make a good paycheck from stores and restaurants not using the Doordash pay system.

All they have to do is reject orders requiring the red card.

How to Doordash without a red card is a simple process of reporting the card missing, taking it off your app, and ordering a new one. Boom, you’re done. Happy dashing!